# Mental health tribunals, retrospective judgements

**URL:** <https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/mental-health-tribunals-retrospective-judgements/2484>\
**Category:** Mental Health Tribunal\
**Created:** [30 May 2024 07:03 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/mental-health-tribunals-retrospective-judgements/2484 "2024-05-30T07:03:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Andrew](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Andrew](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/Andrew)\
**Post date:** [30 May 2024 07:03 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/mental-health-tribunals-retrospective-judgements/2484/1 "2024-05-30T07:03:28Z")

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I am familiar with the real time activity of tribunals that may release section 2 inmates if they do not exhibit the criteria to justify detention. Do they have any powers to investigate past cases where a person was possibly incorrectly detained. Tier 1 and other?

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**Author:** ![Nickwoo](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/ccd318/32.png) [@Nickwoo](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/Nickwoo)\
**Post date:** [30 May 2024 08:01 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/mental-health-tribunals-retrospective-judgements/2484/2 "2024-05-30T08:01:12Z")

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Hi Andrew. No. Here is how Brenda Hale summarises the powers and duties of Tribunals in her book ‘Mental Health Law’:

> The Tribunal are not concerned with whether the admission procedures were properly caried out; the legality of the patient’s detention must be challenged by habeus corpus or judicial review.

Those routes could be used to challenge the ongoing detention of a patient. I’m not sure either would be suitable to challenge things in the past.